Paramount Africa champions global opportunities for African storytellers with AFRIFF partnership

Paramount Africa, a multimedia powerhouse, has partnered with the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in a bid to boost the African creative industry’s outlook through investments in African talent development, cutting-edge content and experiences.

The partnership is designed to showcase and expand the African narrative beyond the continent’s shores.

During the course of the week-long festival, which runs from November 6-12, 2022, Paramount Africa hosted a panel discussion with industry stakeholders on November 10th, followed by a content pitch session on November 11th and 12th for production companies interested in co-production/co-funding opportunities. Pitches will be considered across four major genres of; feature film, television series, documentary, and reality.

“The recent global acclaim of African content and storytellers alike indicate that the African narrative can be projected in different forms. As a content-driven organization, Paramount Africa is proud to partner with AFRIFF, to scale global conversation on the emergence of the African film industry and provide a platform for emerging storytellers to learn and showcase their creativity in its varying forms.

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In line with our values, the goal of this partnership is to further elevate the aspiring and rising stars in the African film industry to global relevance,” said Monde Twala, senior vice president of Paramount Africa, and Peer Lead, BET International. “Through our platforms, MTV Base and BET, we have created a launching pad for both on-screen and off-screen African film stars. Combining our strengths and reach with that of the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF), we know that the African entertainment scene will receive the much-needed boost it requires to deliver on its potential,” Twala added.

Paramount Africa also hosted a Paramount Stakeholders Session tagged “Meet Paramount” on Wednesday, November 10, 2022. The session introduced the accomplishments and vision of Paramount Africa to stakeholders from across the industry, including actors, production executives, media executives, film schools, arts/communication students, and film enthusiasts.

Speaking to the prospects of the partnership, Chioma Ude, founder and director, Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), said, “We are pleased to have Paramount Africa as a partner this year. For over a decade, AFRIFF has proven its dedication to growing the entertainment industry in Africa. Through our showcase of new creators and highlighting of emerging trends, we have endeavored to give African creators a voice as strong as their contemporaries from other nations. Paramount Africa has through its platforms relentlessly pursued the same goal; to amplify the African narrative in its true form and we believe that through extended collaborations like this, Africa’s voice in the global film landscape will be more of a force to be reckoned with.”